October Contests

**11th Annual MERWA Synopsis Contest

Sponsor: Maine Chapter, RWA®
Fee: $20.00 (by check, money order, or PayPal)
E-Sub Receipt Deadline: October 1, 2010
Eligibility: Unpublished authors and published authors with unpublished manuscripts. FOR THE FIRST TIME: Published authors may enter synopses of unpublished mss! Entry: Electronic entries only. Synopsis of no more than 10 pages. Categories: Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense, Strong Romance Elements (women’s fiction, young adult, chicklit, fantasy, erotica, for example). Judges: published, PRO, trained. Certificates to finalists and overall winner. Final Judge: Shana Smith from Harlequin/Silhouette. FMI, http://www.mainerwa.com/ or email coordinator Lori Libby, MERWAsynopsis@gmail.com.

**2010 Get Your Stiletto in the Door—Unpublished

Sponsor: Chick Lit Writers of the World Chapter 204
Fee: Chapter members $15.00; Non-Members $25.00
Deadline: October 1, 2010, 11:59 p.m. PDT
Eligibility: Any writer who has never been published or contracted in book-length fiction (40,000 words or more) by any publisher by the contest deadline, or any writer who has been published but not contracted in book-length fiction within five years of the contest deadline, is eligible to enter any category. Any writer who has been published but not contracted in book-length fiction within three years of the Oct. 1 contest deadline is also eligible to enter any category except those in which the author has published. Entry: Electronic entries only; maximum of first 5,000 words to be judged. 500-word synopsis is recommended but will not be judged. Categories: Single Title, Women’s Fiction, Thrill, Paranormal, Inspirational, Red Hot, Young Adult. Judges: Avid readers and writers of commercial women’s fiction trained in contest critique. Each entry will have four first-round judges. Final Round Judges: Acquiring editors and agents with an interest in commercial women’s fiction. Top Prize: First place in each category, $50 Amazon gift card. Winning authors names and titles will be published in RWR®. FMI, http://chicklitwriters.com/home/get-your-stiletto-in-the-door/.

**2010 Suzannah Contest

Sponsor: NOLA STARs
Deadline: October 1, 2010
Eligibility: The Suzannah Contest pits unpublished and published writers against each other with no categories to separate them. As with editors, we're simply looking for the best writing out there. Entry: Each entry is limited to 7,200 words (approximately 25 pages) and must include a one-page synopsis. Entries must fit within the romance genre and be unpublished and not under contract by contest deadline. All entries will be submitted and judged electronically. Final round judging panel consists of six editors and agents. Grand prize winner to receive $300 in memory of romance author Suzannah Nelson Davis and trophy. FMI, visit: www.nolastars.com.

First Kiss Contest

Sponsor: New England Chapter (NECRWA)
Fee: $20.00 for each entry, $15.00 for NEC members, Outside U.S. $23.00
Deadline: October 1, 2010
Eligibility: Entrants must be unpublished in book-length fiction. Entry: Send us the scene from your book where your couple first kisses. The scene should convey the emotion and romantic conflict between the characters, sparkle with creative dialogue, description and characterization, and move the story forward. As one of our authors said, “Good kiss scenes are essentially emotional discoveries. The first kiss brings a new closeness…but also a new set of complications.” Entry should be 10 pages maximum plus 1 set-up page. Use standard manuscript format, double-spaced, 1-inch margins top and bottom. Categories: All. Judges: Both unpublished and published judges will review each entry. Final Judge: Patience Smith, Senior Editor, Silhouette Romantic Suspense at Harlequin. Top Prize: $50.00 or FREE registration to the New England Chapter’s “LET YOUR IMAGINATION TAKE FLIGHT” Conference (2010 value: $189.00), to be held in April 2011. (Not including hotel, transportation or conference extras.) FMI, http://necrwa.org/kisscontest.html or email the contest coordinator at firstkiss@necrwa.org.

The Dawn Thompson Memorial Haunted Hearts Contest

Sponsor: RWA Gothic Romance Writers
Fee: $15 for Goth Rom Members; $25 for Non-Goth Rom entrants
Postmarked Deadline: October 8, 2010
E-Mail Receipt: Midnight, October 8, 2010
Eligibility: Not published in last 5 years by an RWA approved publisher; not contracted by deadline. Entry: First chapter (25 pages max), synopsis (one page max); must include Gothic elements. Categories: Historical Gothic and Contemporary Gothic (in the event insufficient entries in either category are received, the categories will be merged into a single category). Final Judges: TBA. Top Prize: Certificate. FMI, srpolansky@yahoo.com.

*2010 Get Your Stiletto in the Door—Published

Sponsor: Chick Lit Writers of the World Chapter 204
Fee: $25.00
Deadline: Postmarked by October 15, 2010
Eligibility: Books must be printed and bound with a copyright of 2009. (See rules for exceptions and details.) Entry: Four printed and bound copies. Categories: Single Title, Women’s Fiction, Thrill, Paranormal, Inspirational, Red Hot, Young Adult. Judges: Avid readers and writers of commercial women’s fiction trained in contest critique. Each entry will have three judges. No final round. Top Prize: First place in each category, $50 Amazon gift card. Winning authors names and titles will be published in RWR®. FMI, http://chicklitwriters.com/home/get-your-stiletto-in-the-door/.

13th Annual Gotcha! Contest

Sponsor: Silicon Valley RWA
Fee: $25.00
Deadline: Sunday, October 31, 2010
Eligibility: Not published in the category entered. Entry: All Electronic; first 15 pages. Judges: Trained or published. Categories and Final Judges: Series Contemporary, Susan Litman, Harlequin/Silhouette; Single Title/Mainstream Contemporary, Meredith Giordan, Berkley; Mystery/Romantic Suspense, Allison Lyons, Harlequin Intrique, Historical, Megan Records, Kensington, Paranormal, Deb Werksman, Sourcebooks; Inspirational, Emily Rodmell, Steeple Hill. Top Prize: Top four in each category win a written editorial review. FMI, www.svrwa.com.